The present invention relates to a tabulation system for use in a word processor, and particularly to a tabulation system which receives character strings including tabulation control codes, and arrays input characters appropriately in a plurality of fields partitioned by horizontal and vertical lines (ruled lines).
The data format in a word processor is different from items and records in conventional EDP systems, and a data in the form of a long, variable-length character string must be handled. The reason is that individual sentences have indefinite length and the length can vary by insertion and deletion of words, in contrast to conventional EDP data in which the data length is definite for the commodity name, quantity, and so on. Therefore, in the case of tabulation where input character strings are arrayed in a plurality of fields partitioned by horizontal and vertical lines, it is necessary to prevent the input character strings being arrayed from acrossing the lines.
Conventional word processors have tabulation capabilities such as so called Tab function which is effective within one row. Thus, a character string which has been started to align toward the ith Tab position continues to align even if the i+1th Tab is detected, and it is not possible to realign by automatically returning from the ith Tab position on the next row when the i+1th Tab is detected. The prior art tabulation function, works effectively for EDP data where the maximum number of characters in each field can be defined, in cooperation with the decimal Tab function which locates the decimal point automatically and the centering function which arranges a character string in the middle of the field. However, in the case of tabulation of explanatory description which is widely adopted in technical documents, the operator is required to make a new line at the boundary of the field. Particularly, the prior art system disadvantageously needed a very complex manipulation of data for rearrangement of character strings upon insertion and deletion of words.